Pa. group offers legal help to sexual assault victims
By Mary Rose O'Donnell, Staff Writer
January 28, 2019
Legal expenses for sexual assault cases can often exceed $10,000, a prohibitively high cost for segments of the population that live paycheck-to-paycheck. One group is making it possible for Pennsylvanian survivors of sexual assault to get free legal help — particularly those who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
Column | Pittsburgh gun bills fail civil rights and safety
By Jeremy Wang, Assistant Opinions Editor
January 22, 2019
Pittsburgh’s proposed gun control ordinances were cobbled together by cutting and pasting pieces from ineffective and outdated laws. The results are policies that experts say have serious civil rights implications — without making the City any safer.
Professor proposes use of law to tackle infectious diseases
By Briana Canady | For The Pitt News
February 16, 2018
Matiangai Sirleaf has represented plaintiffs in numerous international human rights cases litigated in federal courts. Now, as an assistant professor of law at Pitt, she plans to use her legal expertise to eradicate infectious diseases. Sirleaf presented her research on disease in Africa, titled â€...
Editorial: Pittsburgh’s veil of Amazon secrecy leaves residents behind
By The Pitt News Editorial Board
November 29, 2017
With little more to go on than a slogan, Pittsburghers don’t know what to make of the City’s proposal to house Amazon’s second headquarters. The online retail giant announced its search for a location in September, and has since received 238 submissions from cities, states and metropolitan areas across North America. Cities responded by offering Amazon a s...
PA ‘Right to Try’ bill: who is it really helping?
By Ana Altchek | For The Pitt News
October 11, 2017
Several years ago, my next door neighbor was diagnosed with stage four cancer — within six months she tragically passed away. Not only was this an agonizing experience for her, but it was painful for her devoted husband, children and grandchildren. While she was too sick to consider any options, the...
Piazza case should be a lesson: to be an adult, be accountable
By Anne Marie Yurik | For The Pitt News
September 14, 2017
Imagine you’re an average college student at a fraternity party. It’s cold — February in central Pennsylvania always is. Suddenly, someone falls down the stairs. They’re drunk enough that they don’t wake up when they hit the floor of the basement. Through the rest of the night, you see ...
To understand injustice, listen to the lawyers
By Henry Glitz | Opinions Editor
September 7, 2017
In most American courts of law, a raised voice or an opinion stated too aggressively will typically earn you the censure of the presiding judge. But that certainly wasn’t the case Tuesday night in the Teplitz Memorial Moot Courtroom, nestled deep within Pitt’s Law School. A panel of five memb...
Pitt Newsers remember pro bono attorney Ron Barber
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
July 14, 2017
Ron Barber, a staunch legal defender of the First Amendment and student journalism, died Thursday, July 6, at age 56, of complications from prostate cancer. Barber — who graduated from Pitt Law in 1989 after completing his undergrad studies at Pitt in 1983 — offered pro-bono legal services to The Pit...
Pitt Law dean Carter to step down, leaving Pitt a second dean position to fill
By John Hamilton / Editor-in-Chief
June 30, 2017
The dean of Pitt’s law school, William M. Carter Jr., is stepping down to return to teaching full-time, becoming the second Pitt dean ending their tenure next spring. Carter's decision comes soon after engineering dean Gerald Holder announced in May he will step down and return to the faculty. Carter and Holder will leave their positions ...
Column: Broken contracts harm passengers’ rights
By Christian Snyder, Columnist
April 21, 2017
Everyone has their price — even the guy on his way to a funeral, a retired United Airlines pilot  said in the face of the airline’s recent viral controversy. But United simply couldn’t figure that price out last week. The airline chose four passengers, at random, to involuntarily bump from a United...